There isn't necessarily a war on boys as much as there is a war on minority
boys. If the data were examined more closely the big differences are in
minority boys. While more minority women go on to college (mostly community
colleges), minority boys go either to the military or to prison. The traditional
factory work that minorities with high school educations would do in the past
are no longer here. The truth in sentencing legislation that has been
implemented over the past 20 years has disproportionally affected boys, sending
them to jail instead of to the workforce. This problem is even worse for
minority boys. These are complex and very nuanced issues.

Y-ask-Y and sthmtnman are perfect examples of what is wrong. They unequivocally
deny that there is any problem, and because they say so, it must be true. When
was the last time you saw a show on TV where the father was portrayed as smart?
Granted, there are a couple , but they are the exception, not the rule. This is
symptomatic of our culture, and the war on boys.

It's really disappointing that the academic achievement gap is being looked
at as a "war on boys" rather than an achievement for women. People can
speculate all they want about the reasoning behind men not getting the same
opportunities that women have in education, but don't claim that men are
being suppressed or not given the same rights to academic success. Women make up
nearly 52% of the population as it is, so that could be a contributing factor to
the rise in achievement.

PS since when could missionaries be
interviewed while on their missions?

Last year I was an LDS Seminary Teacher at Lone Peak and was able to interact
often with these young men. They are better in a spiritual setting then they
were on the court and if you saw them play- that is saying something! At first I
was worried they would have big heads and a bigger ego. I couldn't have
been more wrong. They were humble, kind, considerate men. They are individuals
who cared about others in their class and in their school. They will succeed in
making this world a better place, I have no doubt about that!

I like how the DNews picks "championship" calibur schools to do these
articles on. It's easy to be great when talent abounds. (Lone Peak, East,
etc...)

Why not do a story on a bad, losing program? They have good
kids off the field who do amazing things without the benefits of success on the
field or court in this case.

They practice just as hard. They go
to class and make good grades. They are just as spiritual in the area of
religion. They however, have the challenge of not being as talented to address
as well. They are the teams/kids who get clobbered by the loaded DI schools and
yet show up again next week.

Life is much easier when you win!
Stories about teams who struggle with victory are not quite as compelling as
stories about those who struggle with defeat.

The real war is on families. As they fail, boys and girls are innocent
casualties (as are some husbands and wives) fed to the fire burning to warm the
gods of selfishness. But those cast into the fire can emerge unscathed if
someone will reach out and show them the way of faith, love and truth. There
are compensating blessings. There are tender mercies. There is hope.

Poyman, I'm an over 60 white male with a great education. Circumstances put
me in the job market 4 years ago and I learned that older white males are also
an unprotected class. Several times, while pursuing high-level
management/consulting positions, I made all the but final cuts (dozens/sometimes
hundreds of applicants and I was one of 2 or 3 finalists) and each time a
younger person, usually a female, was chosen. They were all certainly well
qualified and will excel in the positions, but I am equally qualified. The only
differences were age, gender, and color. Yes, this is limited, anecdotal
evidence...but to me, it's real.

But this article is about boys.
We raised three of them and we raised five girls too. Given my experience, I
would say a war on boys is real, but a strong family with vigilant parents can
help the boys win the war. All my boys are doing well...and my girls too...and I
thanks my wife, the church and the Lord.

What gets me about this article isn't just the phony war on white boys.
It's the way that the situation is framed and constructed by your reporter
as an us vs them competition. Boys (us) are losing to girls (them) in terms of
educational achievement. Men aren't competing well against women at
university. This is a travesty, a tragedy. A war is on against boys that's
causing this, since boys are naturally smarter than girls. If females are
achieving higher results than males, that is a problem, that is a failure, those
girls are only taking their education and skills into the kitchen and
motherhood. Boys need to do better than girls, otherwise society is failing.
Really?